The calm before the (fun) storm on May 29, 2019, at the first-ever Xconomy Awards in San Diego at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa.
Photo by Karras Photography
People mingle outdoors at Estancia La Jolla before the start of the Xconomy Awards San Diego program.
Photo by Karras Photography
A group from Daré Bioscience attends in support of CEO Sabrina Martucci Johnson, who was a finalist in the CEO category as well as an emcee.
Photo by Karras Photography
Hilda Mwangi, senior manager for site engagement at Takeda California, chats inside the La Jolla Ballroom during the awards gala.
Photo by Karras Photography
The San Diego sunshine is hard to leave, but groups of guests began sitting down to eat as the program prepared to kick off.
Photo by Karras Photography
Coworkers and friends came together to celebrate their achievements and those of others in the life sciences community.
Photo by Karras Photography
About 250 guests packed a ballroom at Estancia and settled down to dinner as the program got underway.
Photo by Karras Photography
Winners were recognized in nine distinct categories.
Photo by Karras Photography
Huang, Xconomy's editor in chief, references the site's 2008 launch in San Diego, and notes how much the region has achieved since then.
Photo by Karras Photography
The evening's emcees, Martucci Johnson (left), CEO of Daré Bioscience, who was a finalist in the CEO category, and Marquet, co-founder and co-CEO of Alma Life Sciences, prepare to reveal the winners and present them with their awards.
Photo by Karras Photography
ViaCyte, led by Paul Laikind, was one of two winners of the Big Idea award. The company's technology has the potential to become a functional cure for Type 1 diabetes.
Photo by Karras Photography
ViaCyte, represented by CEO Laikind, and Yeo of UC San Diego, both won in the Big Idea category.
Photo by Karras Photography
Yeo's Big Idea award recognized his work on a new way to use CRISPR gene editing.
Photo by Karras Photography
Corson, of Mirati Therapeutics, was recognized for her work in crafting complex business deals.
Photo by Karras Photography
Smith holds the trophy he received after the company he heads was named the winner of the Digital Trailblazer category.
Photo by Karras Photography
Villalpando reveals the Commitment to Diversity award winner. Alexandria was the event's platinum sponsor.
Photo by Karras Photography
Mah, (right), was recently named president of the longtime local accelerator Connect. She has also started and run a number of organizations devoted to advancing women in business.
Photo by Karras Photography
Mah and Villalpando, an assistant design project manager at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, celebrate Mah's win in the Commitment to Diversity category.
Photo by Karras Photography
Royston, a founder of San Diego's first biotech, Hybritech, spoke about his decades-long career in biotech and his belief in the importance of collaboration in the life sciences community.
Photo by Karras Photography
Royston and Marquet clink champagne flutes before he addresses attendees.
Photo by Karras Photography
Kinsbruner Bush, general counsel at Organovo, holds the company's Innovation at the Intersection award. The company is working to produce 3D-printed living tissue to tide over people in need of transplants.
Photo by Karras Photography
Marquet congratulates Loring, of the Scripps Research Institute, on her X of the Year award: Stem Cell Pioneer of the Year. Two X of the Year finalists were named winners.
Photo by Karras Photography
Loring's lab focuses on pluripotent stem cells.
Photo by Karras Photography
Evofem is developing a hormone-free contraceptive product. The company redid clinical trials after receiving a rejection from the FDA in connection with previous data, and is now poised to again ask the FDA for approval of the experimental contraceptive.
Photo by Karras Photography
LunaDNA won the Startup award for its efforts to develop a community-owned database of health information.
Photo by Karras Photography
Gorman has been head of Neurocrine Biosciences since 2008. Under his leadership, the company brought to market the first-ever FDA-approved medicine for tardive dyskinesia, a severe side effect of some psychiatric drugs.
Photo by Karras Photography
The Neurocrine team celebrates its leader's recognition with the CEO award.
Photo by Karras Photography
Award winners come together for a group photo with the evening's emcees.
Photo by Karras Photography
Friends and colleagues chat after the award ceremony wraps up.
Photo by Karras Photography
Although the formal program concluded in about an hour, many attendees stayed afterward to mingle with colleagues and celebrate together.
Photo by Karras Photography
We at Xconomy were thrilled to see such a great turnout at our first-ever awards gala in San Diego. About 250 people from the local life sciences community filled a ballroom at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa (see photos above).
As Greg Huang, Xconomy’s editor in chief, said in his opening remarks before a sold-out crowd on May 29: How far the region has come since Xconomy first launched here, back in 2008!
Top scientists, CEOs, and many others from across the life sciences ecosystem came out to celebrate the winners and finalists. The atmosphere was friendly, fun, and anticipatory as attendees watched the emcees, Sabrina Martucci Johnson (CEO of Daré Bioscience) and Magda Marquet (co-founder and co-CEO of Alma Life Sciences), open the envelopes and reveal the winners.
In accepting his Lifetime Achievement award, Ivor Royston (who co-founded Hybritech, San Diego’s first biotech, and is currently CEO of Viracta Therapeutics) reflected on his long and varied career, and highlighted the importance of teamwork in life science achievements.
Thanks to Karras Photography for taking the photographs in the slideshow. We’d also like to thank our sponsors: platinum sponsor Alexandria Real Estate Equities; gold sponsor Neurocrine Biosciences; silver sponsors CG Life, MedPace, ResMed, and RiverVest; and event partner California Life Sciences Association.
Read more about the finalists and winners here.
Sarah de Crescenzo is an Xconomy editor based in San Diego. You can reach her at sdecrescenzo@xconomy.com. Follow @sarahdc
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